Novartis UK has joined Twitter, becoming the latest pharma firm to do so in the country, where a cautious approach continues to be the order of the day.

Outlining its Twitter guidelines, Novartis plans a 48-hour turnaround for responding to direct messages and asks users not to turn to the network to report adverse events.

The UK industry has long been told that there's nothing to stop it using social media as long as it remains compliant with ABPI's Code of Practice, but few have taken the plunge.

Among those that have are the likes of GSK and AZ, whose UK-headquartered operations make Twitter use a communications must.

Meanwhile, affiliates that have made longstanding use of the platform include Janssen UK and Bayer UK (both of which joined in January 2010), and Boehringer Ingelheim UK.

However, a number of UK companies are planning to ramp up their use of social media in the coming months, among them Lilly UK and Pfizer UK. The latter firm has said it wants to make “a step-change in Pfizer's presence across existing and emerging social media networks”.

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